


A child lost and found

by fear_mayak



Series: Kri stories [1]
Category: Hello Neighbor (Video Games), Hello guest (video game)
Genre: Spinoff, This isn't THE Guest, kri origins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:16:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29864886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fear_mayak/pseuds/fear_mayak
Summary: Quentin babysits the Neighbor's son and the kid successfully gets lots in the forest..
Series: Kri stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2195670
Kudos: 3





	A child lost and found

**Author's Note:**

> Kri origins spinoff. Won't be in the main story, but still happens

"He's going to kill me. It's actually impossible to lose a child, and I just did it"

Quentin lived in the edge of Raven Brooks, where the forest began. The little piece of land with wildly growing grass on it wasn't anyone's property, a great spot to park a van on.

The man had no other chance anyway. He thought he begged enough, enjoyed the support of the black sheep of the town since age seven, when they got to know each other. "it's time to stand on my own feet" he kept repeating "one way, or another" 

It was the another way.

His poor payment allowed the man to not to die in hunger and to poorly furniture the old car. His friend, who the man just called "Sosed" just lend him a generator, which powered the tiny "apartment" good enough for Quentin.

By that time, the guy's got used to his home. He never complained anyway. This is what was given, and Quentin accepted it.

On a sunny day, when he decided to make a little order at home, the man heard a knock on the old iron door.  
The knock was recognizable, noone else knocked that way, Quentin thought. And to be honest..noone else knocked in general.   
Opening the door wide, he greeted his friend with spreaded arms. The man took a step back in surprise.  
-Hello there! What brought you to my mansion in this early hour?  
-It's eleven, Quentin. How's it goin, man?  
-Can't complain. Come in, man! Come in.  
The moustached man looked around, waving at someone nearby.  
-Hey. Kid, kid c'mon. It's not the first time you're here, don't be a pussy.  
Quentin looked at the same direction as his friend, noticing a tiny kid in shirt and short pants.   
-Oh, you brought the little man! Oh boy! Look how much you've grown since last time!   
-Two weeks ago?-Neighbor giggled as they entered to the man's van.  
-They grow like mushrooms during that time. Ya remember, how suddenly we became teens. Don't cha'?  
He got a groan in response, but he didn't take it.  
The child climbed on the stairs and Quentin closed the door behind them.

-Have a seat,guys.  
Sosed sat on the only chair in the entire place, while Quentin grabbed the tiny stool from under the desk. The child entertained himself with the toy cars he brought.   
-Wow, kiddo. Nice toys ya have!  
The kid was about to give detailed informations about the history of the two toy cars he had, but Quentin was distracted by Neighbor.  
-Hey..hey,um. I have a favor to ask.  
-What is it?-the chubby man gave a warm smile for his friend in return. The man knew he'll say yes to anything, but he was still nervous, he never relied on anyone, not even the only friend of his.

Neighbor became quiet, like it was a secret, even in front of the child as well.  
-I have to go to the city tomorrow. Don't wanna take the kid with myself..not yet.... Would...would you...-?  
-Take care of him?  
The man turned away, it felt like shame, while it absolutely wasn't. His friend knew how hard this situation was for him.   
-Sure thing, man. Don't stress it. We'll be fine with the young man, don't we?-turning at the child, who stopped playing, Quentin laughed, but it was that kind of laugh, which made everyone else smile. The kid smiled, even though he had no idea, what's going on. Even Neighbor smiled under the moustache.

The man became more talkative after that. Quentin stood up and stepped at his cabinet, barely being able to open it. The door finally gave in with a big creak.  
-OH ye, I promised to fix that for ya,man.- Sosed said, but the end of the sentence contained the feeling of guilt because of the delay.  
-I don't mind it. It's not urgent. -The chubby man replied, but both of them knew, the promise was made a half year ago at least.   
Quentin grabbed a piece of cloth from the cabinet, but Neighbor still had a chance to look at the entire inventory.   
-Don't tell me ya still have _those_ magazines, man.-he whispered under the moustache.   
It made the other giggle.  
-Don't tell me you don't have _yours_. -Quentin passed the ball back.  
-hey, I'm a father with a beautiful child! -Neighbor raised his voice, but it was still playful -I have priorities. -whispering again- Couldn't have forgiven myself if the kid found them.  
-You should've given them to me-the chubby man giggled, forgetting the eyes on the child for a second. -What a quality child indeed.  
They both stared at the kid, who now noticed all of this and stopped playing. 

Quentin has disappeared in his cabinet again, and Neighbor followed him with his look.  
-So..how do I look? I just bought this coat.-the man put a purple jacket on himself, turning around, like it was the newest fashion show and he was the prettiest model on the stage.  
-Lookin nice,man.-Neighbor smirked-What's the occasion? New workplace? A date? -He winked.

Quentin left a half minute of silence between Neighbor's sentence and his own reply, listening to the child's voice, who probably got into the middle of an exciting car race in the other end of the van.  
-I'll go on a job interview. Guard at the local museum. Sounds pretty rad,right?   
-I wish you the best, man.-Neighbor pat his shoulder, and both of them knew it was already more than enough interaction for that day.

-Hey kid, we goin.-the moustached man stepped next to the child, who forgot to breathe for a second.  
-Tomorrow morning, Quentin.  
-Sure.-the man gave them a warm smile, and one second later, Sosed and the kid were already outside, leaving Quentin alone with his new jacket. 

A minute later, the chubby man realized all of that.   
He put the new cloth back to it's original place, like it was something valuable, while he knew it wasn't.   
Disappearing in his empty fridge, the man found a banana, which wasn't rotten yet.  
-He should've given the one with the tractor poster at least. 50th, golden numbers on the cover and.....It's not the dude posing, it was the tractor I liked...oh boy. He just dropped the entire collection to the trash. What a waste.

**************************************

Quentin barely woke up, there was already a knock on his door.

-Holy bacons, I overslept-....   
The man forced his only clothes on his chubby body, pretending that he was already up for hours, when greeting Neighbor.   
-Should I fix the little alarm clock too? The little purple one with the face on it, totally not -  
-Oh shut up, you-the chubby man giggled, while the child entered to his van through the small space, which was left between Quentin and the entrace.

While the van wasn't giant, it was an amazing experience for a child. The small tv box on giant legs, boarded up windows with tiny holes,which look like bullets shot through them..his dad's old fridge with colorful papers, held by magnets and unreadable letters on them..and the remains of the original car dashboard. The child wanted to believe that if he pressed the right buttons in the right order, the van would still work, maybe even fly,since it already lacked any tires.  
-Does this car still work, mr Quentin?-he turned towards the man, who patiently waited for the kid to take his time to explore.  
\- Call me Quentin only. And yes, it would still work if I put fuel into it and it had tires.  
-Is that the driver's seat?-he pointed at the direction of the chair, in which his dad sat the other day.  
-Yes, my child.   
-...can I have..an apple?   
Quentin gave him a warm smile and stepped at his always empty fridge. Slowly opening it, he began talking. 

\- I'm afraid, little man..that I don't have any apples.  
When the kid saw what's in the fridge, he dropped the stuffed teddy bear, which he was holding until this moment. The fridge had everything he's ever wanted. It was full of chocolate bars, puddings and different types of pre-made sandwiches.  
-I bought a few stuff yesterday, thought you'd like some of it. -the end of the sentence somehow turned out to be a bit sad,mainly because it made Quentin to think about his empty wallet. But he didn't want the kid to see any of his momentary sadness. 

The kid was finishing a chocolate bar, and since teddy didn't want the half of it, he could have the rest. Quentin didn't eat anything, he just watched with a warm smile, how the child was having fun and being happy. 

-That bear you have..your father's made it himself right after you were born.. So let's say, Teddy is a pretty precious bear.   
The kid threw the paper of the chocolate to the trashcan, because he was raised that way. He turned to Quentin.   
-Do you have any toys I could play with? I only brought Teddy..  
-I don't think my toys would interest you,kid..-the man said quietly, giggling under the moustache. -I'm afraid,no.  
-Can I go outside to play?   
-Sure, why not.

Later, Quentin remembered he got an old basketball from his friend, which once belonged to the Raven brooks school, way before Neighbor decided to take it one day. It was a bit flat,but still useful.   
It entertained the child for thirty minutes, but later, he decided to search for little insects in the tall grass, which Quentin never cut.

The chubby man sat on the stairs of his van, keeping an eye on the little human, who explained something about wildlife to his teddy bear.   
The man started to feel the lack of tea, which he didn't have time to drink in the morning. 

At first, he just felt a bit tired, then he started to blink longer, than usual. Closing the eyes for a moment felt good. After Quentin opened them, the child magically teleported three meters from his previous location, now spotting a blue butterfly.

Quentin sighed, and blinked, this time he closed his eyes for a bit more longer.

Silence. 

Only the crows could be heard in the ambiance, someone was struggling to start a bigger car nearby. The summer breeze blew the trees, leaves falling, because it was already closer to autumn, than spring.  
Something was missing.  
Someone's voice was missing.  
The chubby man opened his eyes and jumped from the stairs.

The kid.

The kid was gone. He didn't only stop talking, he was entirely gone as well. Only teddy reminded him to that it all wasn't a dream. Teddy, staring at him, even though it's eyes looked in two different directions.   
The kid was out of sight.  
-Kid?.... Kid, where are you? I don't like playing hide and seek, let's be honest.. Please come here. Hello?!?!!  
Quentin almost began to worry. He knew it has no use, remaining calm helped more for the mind. He barely stressed about anything, and he kept saying the same for his friend as well, who was the champion of overthinking and making difficult situations.  
He started searching the kid. He wasn't in the van, neither behind and under it. He wrote bigger and bigger circles around it. The child couldn't get that far. He didn't fall asleep, one or maximum two minutes have passed and not more.

Surprisingly, the last possibility Quentin thought about, was the forest. After what he's been through with his friend, it was impossible, that the child's dad didn't forbid to go there. He was sure the kid wouldn't even dare to touch the nearest tree, not after all of...that. He couldn't have gone to the forest. 

The chubby man grabbed teddy as he walked to the neighborhood and back to his van. He tossed the plush to his "apartment" and closed the door.

Yes.

He couldn't have gone anywhere else.  
Calling the kid, now louder and with more and more pain in the voice with each call, he started to get closer to the woods.   
Impossible, but still. What if?... What if the kid..was taken there...  
No such a thing has ever happened in Raven brooks,but..what if?.. 

Meanwhile, the child has entirely lost the track of the colorful butterfly, which he promised to catch for his teddy bear. Butterflies were Teddy's third most liked things, next to sitting on the top of old cactuses and climbing on the towered pile Faust book collection of his original owner. 

He looked around. 

Similar trees surrounding him, lack of light shone through the leaves. It wasn't a sunny day anyway, but in this part of the forest, it felt like it was night.  
And more importantly: the kid realized he's got entirely lost already.   
The forest offered so many scary sounds, it was one shock after another. Dad forbid to go there for a reason.

If it wasn't enough, a nearby bush moved. Then, a creak on the old, fallen tree. A scratch.  
The kid's eyes were already filled with tears, but he didn't dare to scream for help. 

A step on the grass, but it was impossible to tell, from which direction.  
The child felt someone's watching him. Trying to spot the owner of the pair of eyes, trying to spot the eyes in general.. Yes. He was being watched, obviously. 

After suddenly turning around, he gasped.

A tall, thin creature stood in the way, with long arms, which ended in gloves. Just like dad's hands. But these gloves felt like they were sewed to the creature. And the huge yellow beak.. It opened and closed that with every breath. The thin legs ended in little shoes, same feeling as in case of the gloves. It was a creature his dad told about, but even more terrifying, than in the stories. 

Dad painted this creature differently every night. Once it was a child kidnapper, once it simply ate the kids without tearing their bodies into pieces. Just like snakes eat their food. The whole body at once. And in one story..the creature just grabbed kids from the street, on the way home from school. It flew away with them. The kid was never seen again, more than probably was taken to a nest, where the body was torn apart, and the creature's children ate him.

That was every story the child suddenly was able to remember, while doing a staring contest with the bird, which didn't even seem to have eyes.

The creature took a step closer, giving clicking sounds.   
The child took a step backwards. This slowly went on.

-Are..are you going to eat me, mr bird? You're a boy, right?  
The creature did reply, but the bird sounds obviously sounded like chinese language. Maybe even more unknown.   
-I'm very skinny. Dad keeps saying that I should eat more..but I'm just bones. Pf,look at me. Not even skin, just bones. I bet your children are more hungry than that.

The creature stopped halfway, turning his head. It obviously became confused by the sentences. 

-Kra?  
-Yes! I'm very thin. Please don't eat me. My dad will be very angry if you do.

The kid's back hit a huge tree. He couldn't back anymore. He was cornered.  
The creature took a huge step forward and looked at the child. Turning it's head, like a real bird, he leaned close and opened the beak.  
-Juj..-the kid gasped and he couldn't say more. In the creature's beak, there was complete darkness. Pitch black. Except, a pair of glowing orbs have appeared.  
It kept the beak open for a while, and then, closed it, hiding everything what was inside.

It took a step backwards, examining the kid as a whole.  
It clicked again. 

Looking around -god knows, why- it hummed.  
The child dared to take a step closer and let the tree go. He wasn't sure if the creature means harm or not, but he was more scared of not finding the way home and making his dad angry, than the actual human-like bird itself. 

After all, the bird seemed to lose interest in such a skinny kid, like him. Maybe it indeed only took children with some extra flesh on them. Who knows.

Since the creature was just rather around him -probably not an everyday event that a kid gets lost in the forest- the child started to look around and find the path he came from. There has to be one.

Turning his back at the bird, he didn't see, when it raised a hand, each finger looking like it ends as sharp claw, aiming at the back of the neck only. The bird opened it's beak, and was about to do what it planned, when the kid continued talking.   
-I'm sorry,mr bird.. I need to find my way out of this forest, can you help?  
It seemed like the kid shows no fear towards the creature already. It changed the mind under a millisecond, slowly put the raised arm down, next to the body, where it originally was.  
A sad click.   
-You live here, right?  
-Kra.  
Suddenly, it's stomach grumbled. It touched the place with both hands.  
-Oh, you were hungry... Right?so...so it's true that you...  
The kid's face became a bit disappointed. He already tried to convince himself about the creature not being evil, but turns out, dad was right all along.  
-If you help me find my way home, I'll give you food, okay?  
-Kra?  
-My friend has a lot of food now. He usually doesn't, but he now has like ten sandwiches. He made them for me, but I'll give them to you,okay?   
-Kraaa.  
-Don't worry, I'll bring them to the forest. You don't have to come to the street.  
They slowly started walking, the kid hoped he convinced the bird.

Meanwhile, Quentin was already in the forest, calling the child in pain, fighting with tears.

-Kid?? Where are you??....oh god..how could I lose a child like that..it's not hard to babysit..and I messed it up...okay,okay. I'll get back to the van, leave a note for his dad and start searching deeper in the forest.   
He just left the forest with shaking legs. It was scary, even for an adult. He couldn't imagine, how the kid must have felt.

After all, it was long ago......

He opened the van's door, when he saw a nearby bush move. It caught his attention immediately.   
From the bush, the child walked out, safe and sound, looking happy.  
-Kid!-Quentin cried and the first teardrop rolled down on his face.  
-Not now, Quentin! I need all of the sandwiches.  
The child walked in without explanation, pushing the chubby man a bit from the way. He opened the fridge, collected as much sandwich as his pulled shirt could take and walked back to the bush he came from.

-Wh..what are you??doing?!?!! Come back!!  
-I'm not going far! -the bush replied.

The man took two slow steps towards the forest to see what's going on. Under the trees, in the darkness, he spotted a yellow beak, moving up and down, like it was eating something. 

He saw the creature. 

Again. 

Moments later, the kid left the bush, waving at someone.  
-That's all I had. I hope you're not hungry anymore and won't eat more kids! 

Quentin froze entirely. He stood on the grass, like a statue.  
It wasn't the fact that he saw them..again. It was the fact that the kid, Neighbor's kid was able to make his way out of the forest, alive.  
The kid, who now started to pull the man's shirt, because he probably looked terrifying. 

-Quentin..Quentin, I'm okay! I'm sorry for going to the forest without asking. Just..please..please don't tell dad.....

The chubby man blinked. Looking down at the kid, he kneed next to him to pat his shoulder.   
-Hey,um...we'll keep this.. adventure between us,okay?...Your dad would murder me,if he found out.  
-I know-the kid replied, resulting the chubby man's eyes to open wide.  
-What did you say a moment ago? 

He just realized he didn't understand what the kid was saying in the past two minutes, since he walked back from the forest. He heard the other talking, but he didn't understand the words.  
-Do they indeed eat kids?  
-Who? 

Before the child could've replied, they both heard car noises.  
Neighbor drove up to the street and stopped the car next to the two worried boys.  
-Heya. Ya guys ok? You look terrified.  
-Hey! Um...-Quentin began.  
-Dad!-the kid began.  
-Um..-the chubby man went on, quickly making up a cover story- I'm...the child was afraid of that you'll get angry at me, if you find out that.. I gave him chocolate bars. Because I did.-he looked away in shame. He could pretend well.

The man examined both of them for a half minute, and then began giggling. 

He entered to Quentin's van and returned with chocolate in his mouth.  
-I'd be angry if you didn't leave any for me. Shall we go, kid?  
The child obeyed without a word and sat in the car.  
-Quentin, could you give me Teddy?  
It took a minute for the man to understand the sentence.   
-Oh!yes yeah. Moment.

He somehow made his way back to the van, feeling powerless, he gave the stuffed toy to the kid, who probably thanked it.  
They left suddenly, at least Quentin didn't remember too much from it. He could recall Neighbor patting his shoulder and calling him "good friend" and maybe a "thank you" was whispered in front of themselves too, but other than that,nothing. 

He closed the iron door behind himself, fell on his knees and hid his face in the palms.

Fat teardrops started falling on the carpet under him.

They never brought this day up ever again.


End file.
